When I was a kid, taco salad was one of my favorite dinners. My mom would sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese on tortilla chips and pop them in the oven to make nachos, and we would eat the nachos as an appetizer while she made the taco salad. When we were done downing the nachos, the salad was ready to eat.

I love taco salad so much that sometimes I make the mistake of ordering it when I go out to eat. There’s nothing wrong with that—it’s usually pretty delicious—but then I remember that I can make almost exactly the same thing at home for a fraction of the cost. If you like restaurant taco salad, too, give this recipe a try.

For two people (or some leftovers for when you’re starving post-study session), you’ll need about 3 cups of tortilla chips, half a head of lettuce, one chopped tomato, around 1/3 pound ground beef, ¼ cup chopped black olives, about 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese, and about ¼ cup of French dressing.

First, brown the ground beef in a pan.

While the beef is cooking, wash your head of lettuce and shred half of it into a big bowl. Chop the tomato and olives, and add them to the bowl. Pour in the chips and cheddar cheese.

When the beef is done cooking, drain off the grease. Add the beef to the bowl. Then pour in the French dressing—you may want more or less of it to taste, so start with less to make sure the flavor won’t overwhelm—and toss.

Bing, bang, boom, and dinner’s ready. Now scarf that down and get thee to the library. You have a paper to write.

Every week, CC and John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, and saddest things he hears on his college campus. And we know he’s not the only one who hears this stuff. Join the Overheard revolution! Leave your own overheard convos in the comments or send ‘em over!

(In a calculus class.)

Professor: Does anyone know the answer? *points to guy in class* What about you? And say, do I know you? You look familiar.

Guy: I took this class before. And no, I don’t.

(Two bros, walking in the rain.)

Bro 1: Yo, when I say “no homo,” it means you let me under your umbrella.

(Two girls playing with a Slinky.)

Girl 1: See that? If human fat had bones, that’s how it would look.

(Group of friends, walking across campus.)

Guy: You know what meth heads think about? Meth.

(Girl, in an English class.)

Girl: Wasn’t that, you know… the British lady. Madeline Albright? No. Madeline L’Engle.

Professor: Margaret Thatcher?

Girl: Yeah. That one.

(Two girls, studying in the library.)

Girl (reading): The average tomato, when it gets to your plate, has been touched by over 50 strangers.

Girl 2: Along with over 100 people you know!

(Guy, in a crowded movie theater.)

Guy: YOU ARE TEARING ME APART, MANSQUITO!

(Three girls, hanging out in a dorm lobby.)

Girl 1: Mon Mothma, Han doesn’t understand me like you do. I need the guidance of an older woman.

Girl 2: But… Leia, what about Chewie?

Girl 3: Oh my god. Guys, this is nerd porn in the making.

(Two guys, installing audio/visual equipment.)

Guy 1: Yo, man, we need more female to female over here!

Guy 2 (yelling down hall): Sorry! I’m all out of females!

(Girls, getting ready for a party.)

Girl 1: God, dealing with excess body hair is such a pain in the ass. Plucking eyebrows, weird tummy fuzz, shaving legs…

Girl 2: Oh! Speaking of which, let me put on this CD.

Girl 1: “Yeti Mating Calls?”

Girl 2: No, it’s just Shakira.

(Girl and guy, in the back of a class.)

Guy: Ach! Mein paintbrushen! I’ve lost them in the garden!

Girl: Quick! Find Hitler’s paintbrushes and prevent World War 2!

All right so it might not be cold yet, but that doesn’t mean a bowl of something hot wouldn’t hit the spot. If you’re too broke to swing by the nearest deli every time you get a massive craving for a soup and sandwich, try this recipe for chili. It’s super easy, great for dorm rooms (assuming you can use a crock-pot there…or can hide it from your R.A.) and it makes enough to last a lot longer than one of those eensy bowls of Broccoli Cheddar soup (still, mmmm broccoli cheddar soup…).

Chili is extremely customizable. For instance, depending on whether you like yours really hot or not so much, it isn’t hard to adjust the spice of this recipe. Chili is kind of a free-for-all dish, meaning, throw whatever the hell you want into a pot as long as it sounds good. (Caution: do not try this when inebriated. I did and quickly realized that frosting does not go well in chili.)

So, for my perfect chili, here’s what you need:

1 lb. ground beef

Cumin to taste

1 can of chunky tomatoes

1 can Rotel

2 cans red kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 small onion, cut into chunks

1 can jalapeno peppers (for extra spice if you want it)

Chili seasoning (totally optional, by the way)

1. First, brown a pound of ground beef (or turkey, or hell, even chicken) in a skillet (or microwave). I typically like to add some cumin to it because it gives it a great smoky flavor.

2. Here’s where it gets easy: Take the ground beef and drain it. Then throw it in the crock pot. And then add all the cans. You may want to drain some of them, depending on how soupy you like your chili, but don’t drain the beans. The natural starch helps to thicken the chili a little. Add the onions and the jalapeno peppers (if you opt to use them) and any chili seasoning you wish.

3. Turn the crock-pot to high and cook for about an hour, just to get it nice and hot. Then turn it down to low and let it simmer for a while. I usually let it simmer at least two hours but the longer the better–the flavors totally come together the more time you give ‘em.

4. After you’re ready to chow down, serve up some hot chili with some shredded cheese and any other essentials you might need. My personal favorite way is to top it off with some monterey jack cheese with grilled cheese on the side. Talk about comfort food. So tasty.

Welcome to day 3 of my week eating entirely vegan.

Breakfast: Venti soy latte from Starbucks. I’m afraid of trying any syrups in my drink because I don’t think they’ll mix well with soy milk.

Lunch: Leftover vegan chili from last night (still tasty!) wrapped in corn tortillas.

Dinner: I attempt to make vegan tofu scramble. The recipe from allrecipes.com calls for canned diced tomatoes, green onions, and mashed silken tofu. I cut out the cheddar cheese from the recipe and instead I add some sliced mushrooms and red bell peppers for a little extra oomph. The finished product is watery and tasteless and the tofu adds nothing to the dish.

I wonder if fried firm tofu would have worked better? I’m not sure if this dish was supposed to be a breakfast or a dinner, but either way it’s disgusting. I heat up some more vegan chili and eat that instead.Today’s discovery: vegan chili is amazing; vegan scrambled eggs substitute is not. If you plan on going vegan, you might want to learn how to cook first.

Anyone got some tips on good vegan recipes? I could use all the help I can get…

[photos are by lil' ol' me]

For one person, one small- to medium-sized tomato is plenty. You’ll also need some basil (fresh or dried), salt, pepper, a bit of olive oil, and a couple of tablespoons of parmesan cheese.

Cut out the hard upper center of the tomato and then cut the tomato either lengthwise or widthwise into slices that are between ¼” and ½” thick. Preheat the oven to 400, then arrange the tomato slices at the bottom of an 8”x8” square pan. Sprinkle them with a dash of salt, a little pepper, and some basil (fresh is best) to taste. Drizzle the tomatoes with the olive oil, and top them with the parmesan cheese.

Then pop those suckers in the oven and bake them for about 15 minutes. You’ll probably drool when you take them out, so be prepared!

It’s easy to double or triple the recipe, so I’ll provide ingredients here for just one person. You need 1 cup of spinach (fresh, and optional), 1 tablespoon of olive oil, about ¼ cup chopped onion, a sprinkling of sugar, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon of chopped sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed or dry, it doesn’t matter), about 1 ½ tablespoons goat cheese, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil or ¼ teaspoon of dry basil, a sprinkling of salt, and two chicken breast halves. You’ll also need a few toothpicks.

First things first: if you’re using the spinach, boil a pot of water and plunge the spinach in it. Cook it for 2-5 minutes, until it’s going pretty limp. Drain the pot and pat the hot spinach dry.

Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a small frying pan. Add the onions, sugar, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook that mixture until the onions are browned, about 5-6 minutes.

While the onions are browning, take out a cooking mallet or rolling pin. Put the chicken breast halves, one at a time, in an unsealed Ziploc bag, and pound the heck out of them. You don’t want to bust holes in them, but you do want them to be flat—about ¼” thick, ideally, and narrow so that you can roll them up.

When the onion mixture is done, remove it from the heat and mix it in a bowl with the goat cheese, the basil, and the salt. Make sure everything is combined well.

Now it’s time for the art. If you used the spinach, lay half of it across the top of each chicken breast half. Then, take half of the goat cheese mixture in a spoon and plunk it in the middle of one flat chicken breast half. Pick up the ends of the chicken breast half and wrap them up to the top (or roll the chicken breast, jellyroll style). Secure this contraption with a toothpick or two, and repeat the procedure with the second chicken breast half.

If you need it, add a little more olive oil to the same frying pan you used before. Warm it up on low-medium heat, and plop the stuffed chicken breasts in the pan. Cook them for about 6 minutes per side or until they’re all browned and entirely cooked through.

Serve with bread or noodles and a good salad.

But not anymore! This recipe takes prep time, but makes up for it in the simplicity and health factors (it’s all baked, not fried in gallons of grease).

You’ll need one baby eggplant (about half the size of a regular eggplant), like this graffiti eggplant.

You’ll also need one large, fresh tomato (chopped), a little salt, about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, half an onion, one garlic clove, ½ teaspoon oregano, ¾ teaspoon basil, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese.

Peel the eggplant, cut off the top, and then cut it into slices that are about a half-inch thick. Lightly salt them, then set them on paper towels to drain for 30 minutes.

During the last few minutes, heat the oven to 350. When the eggplant slices are finished draining, rub them with half the olive oil and set them on a tinfoil-coated baking sheet. Slide them in the oven for 30 minutes. Halfway through, you should stop and flip them over so they cook evenly.

Meanwhile, chop up your half onion and your garlic clove, and heat up the remaining olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, basil, and pepper. Sauté for about 3 minutes, or just until the onion starts to brown.

Then add your tomato! Let the mixture simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. Near the end, heat the oven to 350.

When the tomato mix is nice and thick and delicious, find a small casserole pan and put one-third of the tomato sauce in the bottom of it. Add half the eggplant slices on top.

Then sprinkle one tablespoon of the parmesan on top of that. Then do it all again: one-third of the tomato sauce, the other half of the eggplant slices, and the other half of the parmesan cheese. Finish with the rest of the tomato sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes, and you’re done! Eggplant parmesan, just for one and just as delicious as it is in the restaurants.

Save the money and the calories by stocking these five magical ingredients. With them, you can whip up a quick and delicious dinner any night of the week.

1. Cooking wine. Though not really the kind of thing you want to drink straight-up, cooking wine is great for making amazing sauces, putting in some casseroles, or adding major flavor to meat dishes.

As with regular wine, white tends to go better with chicken and red with beef. If you like to drink wine, there’s also something to be said about keeping your cellar stocked with good drinking wines that can double as cooking wines.

2. Chicken broth. Every bit as useful as cooking wine, but for slightly different things. Chicken broth can help make a wonderful pasta sauce, is a fantastic base for soups with a lot of flavor, and will make rice and noodles taste a lot better (if you boil them in the broth instead of water).

3. Pasta. If you have pasta of almost any kind in your kitchen, you’re good to go. Unless there’s absolutely nothing in your fridge besides cans of beer, you should be able to come up with something to put on top of it that will taste OK. Pasta’s very forgiving and versatile, and sometimes I use it three or four nights a week.

4. Canned, diced tomatoes. Talk about a lifesaver. You can use these babies for spaghetti sauce, soups, casseroles, curries, vegetable-based dishes…the possibilities are pretty close to endless. My personal favorite thing about them? No chopping.

5. Cheese. I like to keep a block of cheddar around at all times, because I find that most of the things I regularly make (burritos, macaroni casseroles, meatballs, creamy pastas) take to cheddar pretty well. Asiago and parmigiano-reggiano or romano also work like a charm, though.

So, there they are…the five dinner biggies. Using these, my favorites to make include a long-noodle pasta (like linguini) with a chicken and white wine sauce and a beef macaroni casserole with tomatoes and cheddar.

Anybody else have great dinners they make using these items?